Cx Associates provided commissioning for the renovation of the historic building that is used as Middlebury College’s president’s residence. The building has been recognized for its energy efficiency, winning Efficiency Vermont’s top award for a major renovation of a commercial building. As a result of our early involvement in the project, we were able to identify an opportunity for the engineer to modify sequences and piping to ensure the heating boiler was not damaged by missing logic. Our follow up on the issue resolved a lack of communication that could have resulted in a voided boiler warranty.

Cx Associates was retained by Champlain College to commission the college’s renovation of Roger H. Perry Hall. Built in 1859 by lawyer and diplomat Edward Phelps, it is one of only 11 houses in the South Willard Street Historic District that predates the Civil War and is an Italianate-style brick home with elements of Greek revival. The college’s plan for the building included energy-efficient climate control systems, including a geothermal pump from Perry Hall's deep wells. The building was renovated to LEED standards which recognize performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

Cx Associates provided commissioning services for the renovation of this three-story historic mansion. The systems included in our commissioning were HVAC, domestic hot water, lighting and lighting controls. We identified a number of issues during the commissioning process, including variable refrigerant flow controls that didn’t meet specified sequences of operation, an isolation damper that was not opening properly to allow outside air into the heat recover unit, and water pooling around the roof top units. The identified issues were resolved, removing the potential for future issues.

Cx Associates provided commissioning for the new squash center on Middlebury College’s main campus, which includes nine squash courts, an entrance to the main athletic complex, and seating for hundreds of spectators. Cx Associates was retained to assist in the pursuit of LEED certification for the project. Commissioned systems included HVAC, domestic hot water, and lighting and lighting controls. Our early involvement during the design phase allowed us to develop close relationships with the college and the contractors which helped ensure the controls for the ventilation system and lighting system met the design intent and needs of the college.

Cx Associates provide design and construction phase commissioning for Middlebury College’s new Field House. Our review uncovered several issues that, when corrected, reduced first cost and increased energy efficiency. During the construction phase, we corrected over 50 issues with the rest of the team, each found during commissioning. Correcting these problems improved equipment access and maintainability, improved sequences of operation and other equipment programming, and resulted in improved environmental quality.

Cx Associates provided commissioning during Champlain College’s two-phase dormitory project to build three new residence halls on their campus. Our work ensured that the buildings conformed with the project Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR), Basis of Design (BOD), and contract documents. The project included energy efficient design elements such as heat pump systems connected to a ground source wellfield serving a multi-building district.

Cx Associates provided commissioning services for construction and post-occupancy phases of the master facilities and chiller plant upgrades. The overall project was comprised of three separate projects: the ICU/Medical-Surgical addition, which included twenty new single occupancy patient rooms; the main entrance and lobby renovation, which included the outpatient clinic addition and contained multiple exam rooms; and a new standalone medical office building.

Cx Associates provided design, construction, and occupancy phase commissioning services for this Compounding Pharmacy and Medical Office Building which houses dedicated dermatology and chemo infusion clinics along with a pharmaceutical lab. Because we were involved since the design review, we were able to work with the owners, designers, and contractors to ensure the compounding pharmacy HVAC system will satisfy the strict code requirements for this type of space.

Cx Associates is commissioning this four-phase construction project, including the Congress Street Clinical Building, East Tower Vertical Expansion, Existing Visitor Garage Vertical Expansion, and Central Utility Plant Chiller. We are providing design, construction, and occupancy phase commissioning services for this project as well as occupancy phase monitoring-based commissioning. In addition, we worked with Maine Medical Center to develop an in-depth facilities Owner’s Project Requirements document that they are now using to inform other projects.

Cx Associates led the development of the Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR), and then provided commissioning services for Design, Construction, and Post-Occupancy phases of the project. Our design reviews resulted in over $220,000 in first cost savings and we identified and suggested solutions for over 200 issues during construction.

Currently we are providing measurement and verification services in compliance with LEED 2009-NC Version 3.0 – EAC 5 for Measurement and Verification. This work includes commissioning metering devices, building a public-facing web page that charts the Energy Use Intensity of the building, writing and executing a measurement and verification plan, and developing an energy model to measure actual building energy performance in comparison to baseline.

The University of Vermont (UVM) Davis Center was the first student center to receive LEED Gold certification for new construction from the U.S. Green Building Council. This cutting-edge, 186,000 square-foot building features a 19,000 square-foot green roof, built-in compost storage coolers, waterless urinals, and an energy efficient HVAC system. It diverts more than 60 percent of its waste from the landfill. In 2010, the Davis Center received the Innovative Achievement Award, sponsored by American Campus Communities. The Davis Center represents UVM's commitment to the environment and green building practices.

Turning LEED Silver Into LEED Gold

In 2011, Cx Associates began working with Hypertherm, a world leading plasma and laser cutting equipment manufacturer located in New Hampshire. We provided LEED consultation; building envelope, HVAC, and electrical commissioning; and measurement and verification (M&V) planning and implementation services for this $35 million, 160,000 square foot LEED project.